What Andres Iniesta said in the tunnel to his Barca teammates at half-time v Roma

Roma stunned Barcelona 3-0 at the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday night to advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League, thanks to the away goals rule.

Veteran Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta - who has won 30 trophies since making his debut in 2002 - described the shock result as a "hurtful elimination".

Reports have linked Iniesta with a summer move away from the Camp Nou and the club legend admitted that it may have been his final Champions League game for Barcelona.

"That is a possibility and for that reason it hurts even more," the 33-year-old midfielder told Marca.

"It's a very hurtful elimination because nobody expected it due to the lead we had.

"When you do things badly, make lots of mistakes and don't adapt to the game, this is what happens.

"It's a big disappointment because of the season we were having. It's difficult to take this elimination because we had a lot of hope and it has escaped."

What Iniesta said to his teammates at half-time

Tunnel footage from the Stadio Olimpico captured Iniesta walking out for the second-half with Samuel Umtiti and Sergi Roberto.

He had a word of warning for his teammates and even predicted Roma's shock victory.

"We are going to end up losing if we keep doing what we're doing," said Iniesta in Spanish.

Sadly for Barcelona fans, he was absolutely spot on.

Ernesto Valverde failed to make any substitutions until the final 10 minutes and has been heavily criticised in the Spanish press in the aftermath of the result.

Iniesta was replaced by Andre Gomes in the 81st minute and watched on from the sidelines as Roma scored a crucial third goal through Kostas Manolas just one minute later.

The Barcelona coach took full responsibility after the Catalan giants were knocked out.

"We had no response, everything went for them and for us we struggled to build our play," Valverde admitted in his post-match press conference, as per Marca.

"I am responsible absolutely, I am the visible head of the team and it was down to me. With their pressure it forced us to knock balls long, we became disjointed and we were not able to win the second ball.

"Everyone is now affected by this but we need to bounce back because we have two competitions that we want to win."

Barcelona still remain unbeaten in La Liga and are due to face Sevilla in the Copa del Rey final.

Report author of article

DISCLAIMER

This article has been written by a member of the GiveMeSport Writing Academy and does not represent the views of
GiveMeSport.com or SportsNewMedia. The views and opinions expressed are solely that of the author credited at the top of this article.
GiveMeSport.com and SportsNewMedia do not take any responsibility for the content of its contributors.

Want more content like this?

Like our GiveMeSport Facebook Page and you will get this directly to you.